We all know that Regina King is a queen, so we’re celebrating since today is her birthday!
The actress is turning 49 years old today and the past year has been amazing for anyone who has been following the Los Angeles native’s career as she was finally recognized for the powerhouse talent that she is.
In February, the Academy awarded the performer with her first Oscars trophy for her role in Barry Jenkin‘s If Beale Street Could Talk, which came hot off the heels of her collecting her first Golden Globes award a month earlier.
Then, in May, Netflix announced that the multi-talented artist had inked a first look deal with the streaming service, meaning that soon we’ll likely see movies and series under her Royal Ties production banner end up on our queue.
It’s a huge achievement for the star as well as audiences since, in her Golden Globes acceptance speech, King stated that she was committed to making sure at least 50% of her hires would be women, addressing one of the representation issues that has plagued the industry and been brought to light via organizations like Time’s Up.
In the latter half of the year, King dominated headlines again when she was cast as Sister Night in the critically acclaimed and highly-anticipated HBO series, Watchmen, which also fulfilled a long-held (and well deserved) dream of hers to play a superhero.
To ring in the latest trip around the sun for the celebrity, we’ve rounded up the best roles that King has played over her 35-plus year career.
Let us know which role is your favorite!
NBC
227
We were first introduced to Regina King in 1985 when she played the boy-crazy but booksmart Brenda Jenkins in the sitcom 227.
Columbia Pictures
Boyz n the Hood
While her time on the screen in this iconic film was limited, King’s memorable one-liners and engaging presence as Shalika undeniably served as the launchpad for her long career on the silver screen.
Columbia Pictures Corporation/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com
Poetic Justice
King co-starred with Janet Jackson and the late Tupac Shakur in this classic film directed by John Singleton that centered around each character finding themselves after individual heartbreak and tragedy.
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New Line Cinema
Friday
The actress played Ice Cube‘s on-screen sister in this cult classic.
Tri Star/Kobal/Shutterstock
Jerry Maguire
“My whole life is this family, Jerry, and it does not work without him!”
It’s the line that makes us—and Jake Gyllenhaal—cry, delivered flawlessly by King in her role as Marcee Tidwell after seeing her football player husband, Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), get seriously injured during a game.
In an video with Buzzfeed, King said how this role was “special” and she thought of their on-screen romance as, “The love you wanted to achieve. That relationship was the relationship you wished you can have.”
Paramount Pictures/ZUMA
Down to Earth
The performer nabbed her first BET Awards nomination for her part in Down to Earth as a Sontee Jenkins, an activist who Chris Rock‘s character Lance Barton finds so attractive, he literally dies in a car accident while checking her out.
Ouch. But, the good news is that he is reincarnated and gets to reconnect with the charismatic protester while in his new body. It’s a goofy film that showcased that King can thrive in any genre.
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WARNER BROS. PICTURES / ZUMA PRESS
A Cinderella Story
Who wouldn’t want a Fairy Godmother, especially if yours is Regina King!
The actress plays Rhonda in this mid-2000s take on on the classic Cinderella tale, where she helps Sam (Hilary Duff) sneak off to the homecoming dance and stand up to her evil step-mother and step-sisters.
Moviestore/Shutterstock
Ray
King’s first major award nomination—Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards—came in part from her portrayal as Margie Hendricks in the Oscar-nominated film Ray.
In the film, Margie is one of the legendary Raelettes for Ray Charles’ (Jamie Foxx) and becomes his on-the-road lover.
Screen Gems/Shutterstock
This Christmas
Who doesn’t love a good Christmas film? In This Christmas, King plays Lisa, a witty woman whose crazy family gets together for a holiday dinner.
With plenty of drama and secrets revealed throughout the film, it’s relatable to anyone who has gone home for the holidays.
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JOHN WELLS PRODUCTIONS/WARNER BROSS TELEVISION/ZUMA
Southland
King returned to the small screen in the show Southland, a series documenting the day-to-day lives of those working at the LAPD.
The actress was nominated three times for a BET Award for how she approached and elevated her part as Detective Lydia Adams, including a memorable scene in the first season as she fights off intruders who break into her home.
Sony Pictures
The Boondocks
King voiced two characters, Huey and Riley, in the critically acclaimed Cartoon Network series The Boondocks.
Van Redin/HBO
The Leftovers
King joined the second season of the popular HBO show as Erika Murphy, the fierce matriarch of her family that lives in Jarden, a town that was unaffected by the mysterious Sudden Departure where 2% of the world’s population vanished.
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Ryan Green/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images
American Crime
King starred not once, not twice but three times in the American Crime anthology series, playing a different character in each iteration of the show.
Her season one portrayal as Aliyah Shadeed also won her the first Emmy Award of her career.
David Giesbrecht / Netflix
Seven Seconds
After scooping up two Emmys from her time on American Crime, King took home her third when she played Latrice Butler on the Netflix series Seven Seconds.
The show surrounds a police cover-up in the death of Brenton, a black teenager who is also Latrice’s son, and Latrice’s journey to finding and exposing the truth.
Annapurna Pictures
If Beale Street Could Talk
King’s portrayal as Sharon Rivers, a fiercely protective mother in 1970s New York City, earned her both her first Academy Award and Golden Globes Award.
In her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, King thanked director Barry Jenkins, praising both the film and her role when she said, “Thank you for your empathy, thank you for telling stories so rich and thank you for giving us a film that my son said to me, when he saw it, that it was the first time he really saw himself.”
She also took her time on stage to vow that, over the next two years, all projects that she would produce would have at least 50% of it’s staff be women!
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HBO
Watchmen
In 2019, King was cast as the lead in the highly-anticipated Watchmen series on HBO and proved to be the perfect person to play Sister Night/Angela Abar.
The thrilling show, which has been praised for its stunning visuals and powerhouse acting, has plenty of twists and turns that we wouldn’t want to spoil here, but it’s one you don’t want to miss.